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Monthly Archives: September 2010
Golf carts on public sidewalks? Not yet – News – BradentonHerald.com
Golf carts on public sidewalks? Not yet – News – BradentonHerald.com.
What do you think about this issue?
A History worth telling: Richard Sparks Haley wants to preserve his family lore
By JAMES A. JONES JR. – jajones1@bradenton.com Buzz up!
MANATEE — Richard Sparks Haley is 70, looks 50, and would appear to have DNA loaded with longevity.
His mother, Mary Louise Haley, is 95, and until recently was a regular tennis player.
But Haley, a local rancher and builder, knows that he won’t live forever and is anxious to preserve the photographs and documents that record his family’s history in Manatee County.
JAMES A. JONES JR./jajones1@bradenton.com Richard Sparks Haley with a stair rail at his home made from a floor joist of an early school in Palmetto that was razed. Buy it: Order this photo now
Buy it: Order this photo now
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Haley traces his family tree back to Samuel Sparks Lamb, founder of Palmetto; and John Jasper Haley, who fought for the Confederacy at Sharpsburg, Fredericksburg. Wilderness, and Second Cold Harbor.
Haley’s relations also include the Fullers and the Reasoners, names prominent in Manatee County history. The Fullers as entrepreneurs and developers and the Reasoners as pioneer nursery operators.
Haley has a thick computer printout that traces his family roots back to 1690 Scotland.
There are boxes and boxes of material, but many of the photos are a century old and showing it, turning yellow, the images fading.
In 1989, Haley found a receptive ear at the Florida State Archives, a staff member who seemed interested in cataloguing and preserving some of what he had. But she died of a heart attack, and another champion failed to come forward to take on the project.
More recently, he has been working with the Carnegie Library in Palmetto on how to archive some of his documents and photos.
Carnegie’s Lynn Pope, whose husband is related to Haley, said the repository of Palmetto history can supply archival boxes and labels, but admits that it is a daunting task, and resources are limited.
“Some of it is on his father’s side, some of it is on his mother’s side,” she said of Haley’s complex family history.
Another possibility that Haley has yet to explore is the Manatee County Public Library Historic Photograph Collection, which includes images from the late 19th Century through the early 1980s.
The digital collection, made possible by funding of the Library Foundation Inc., includes more than 20,000 images.
John Van Berkel, library services manager, said the library is putting all of its historic images on the web through a contract with the University of South Florida.
The web represents a new way of preservation, leapfrogging the old system — microfilm — in ease of use and accessibility to many more users.
The digital photo collection, in addition to “depicting schools, churches, hospitals and means of transportation, feature many prominent local families and their important role in building and documenting Manatee County,” according to the USF Library website.
Haley’s interest in history — his family’s and the community’s — came early.
Raised in Palmetto, he was born at Bradenton General Hospital in 1940 and graduated from Manatee High School in 1958.
“I was exploring Gamble Mansion before it was a state park. It was abandoned and all the windows were knocked out,” he said.
Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/09/27/2606514/a-history-worth-telling-richard.html#ixzz10jL3f8kK
Students to learn about real-life financial planning – Business – BradentonHerald.com
Palmetto girls’ fight sparks debate
Palmetto girls’ fight sparks debate
By BETH BURGER and PARADISE AFSHAR – Herald Staff Writers Buzz up!
PALMETTO — The YouTube videos of two 16-year-old girls fist-fighting and a mother cheering on her daughter have catapulted the incident into an international news story and sparked an intense community discussion:
How could a mother bring her child to a fight and then cheer her on?
How could nearly 100 other teens just watch, cheer and shoot video without any of them stepping in to break it up?
A video of Friday’s fight in Palmetto was on YouTube until it was taken down at around 6 p.m. Wednesday. CLICK FOR MORE PHOTOS
VIN MANNIX column | Teenage girls’ fight videos sad spectacle Palmetto student fight goes global Mom jailed after Palmetto High student fight What does it all say about our society in the Internet age?
“It’s heartbreaking to think that an adult would allow her daughter to hurt another child. You’re supposed to be a role model,” said Manatee resident Karen Long, 45, who has three children between the ages of 14 and 25. “What are you teaching your child about proper behavior? Someone needs to pray for her and that child. It’s sad.”
The fight broke out Sept. 17 on a vacant field outside Palmetto, lasting about five minutes. Dozens of teens watched and yelled in excitement — many recording the action on their cellphone cameras — as the two battled over an ex-boyfriend, according to authorities.
The tapes were splashed on YouTube, leading to 39-year-old April Newcomb’s arrest on a child abuse charge.
“The actions of a high school student getting into a fight is not necessarily news. That’s been happening for years,” said Newcomb’s defense attorney, Kevin Hayslett, of Clearwater.
“Part of the snowball effect of this story is that it was beamed around the world within 24 hours,” he said. “Had it not been for the power of the Internet, this would have been a fight the kids talked about at school, but would not have had any lasting consequence for the participants or spectators.”
The media frenzy
Since the Bradenton Herald broke the story of Newcomb’s arrest Wednesday on Bradenton.com, media outlets around the world picked up the story and ran the video.
National television shows, including “Inside Edition” and “Prime News” on the Headline News channel, played video footage from the fight. Several news websites posted the story, including one in India, bollypatrika.com,
At least two videos of the fight have since been removed on YouTube.
In contrast, just four days after the Palmetto fight, there was another fight in Manatee involving parents and children.
A 14-year-old girl and her 37-year-old mother were hospitalized after being struck with a pipe by another mother, officials say.
But there was apparently no video footage of that fight, and media coverage was minimal.
“Video definitely draws interest,” said Kelly McBride, a Poynter Institute senior faculty member in St. Petersburg who specializes in media ethics. “That’s not a question anymore. People like to look at dramatic video. … Even if the media hadn’t jumped on the story — the video still would have gone viral.”
Josh Stapleton-Jones, 16, a junior at Palmetto High, said teens who post videos hope they will garner attention.
Next Page
Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/09/26/2605448/palmetto-girls-fight-sparks-debate.html#ixzz10dVbt5aN
It pays to be a savvy bank customer – Jennifer Rich – BradentonHerald.com
Large banks earn billions, small banks struggle – Business – Wire – BradentonHerald.com
Large banks earn billions, small banks struggle – Business – Wire – BradentonHerald.com.
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Deal Could Change Face of East Manatee
By RICHARD DYMOND – rdymond@bradenton.com Buzz up!
LAKEWOOD RANCH — Perhaps because of its complexity, a deal worked out between Schroeder-Manatee Ranch and Manatee County last week only registered a blip on the local radar.
But this exchange, which took about six months to finally iron out and was two years in the making, has the potential to change the face of East Manatee and create thousands of jobs in the process.
The deal, which involves impact fee credits, allows SMR to put together financial packages to soon begin Lakewood Centre, the proposed name for a 697-acre entertainment, retail and office hub at State Road 70 and Lakewood Ranch Boulevard, Todd Pokrywa, SMR’s vice president of planning, said Monday. The project, which has a 20-year build out, is expected to cost in excess of $100 million and would begin in late 2011.
The deal also allows SMR to begin in late 2011 an age-targeted community for those 55 and older in the Northwest Sector, which is a 1,518-acre parcel that from runs from Lakewood Centre’s west border to Lorraine Road and north to 44th Avenue East, Pokrywa said.
The deal also will make Lakewood Ranch Boulevard four lanes from Center Ice Parkway to Portal Crossing within two years.
“This is a win-win situation,” Donna Hayes, chairwoman of the Manatee County Commission, said Monday. “During this time of economic recovery, the jobs created by this exchange will have a great impact on Manatee County residents.”
SMR felt it needed a deal to feel confident in going forward with these massive projects because of “concurrency,” which means that the level of service expected by the county for roads, schools, sewer and water lines and parks must keep pace with the development, Pokrywa said.
SMR wanted assurance from the county that it could build first phases of both projects without fear of having to stop to let all the roads catch up.
“Lenders like to hear that you have assurance that there won’t be starts and stops,” Pokrywa said.
The county determined that the two huge projects would not trigger concurrency issues for solid waste, storm water, law enforcement, public safety and parks, but would for roads.
The county asked SMR to agree to a number of stipulations.
First, SMR agreed to forego reimbursement from the county for the $17.4 million it spent in 2007 for improvements made on University Parkway and 44th Avenue East.
“In a sense, we ripped up an I.O.U. from the county that we held,” Pokrywa said. “This is a partnership between SMR and the county to create jobs.”
The county plans to use this money for the Fort Hamer bridge project and other road improvements, Hayes said.
Second, the county asked SMR to make “proportionate share contributions” to the roads surrounding its two projects to satisfy transportation concurrency issues during the first two phases.
The county calculated SMR’s proportionate share for the first phases of the two projects at $5.7 million.
SMR agreed to pay $2 million by adding two lanes on Lakewood Ranch Boulevard from Center Ice Parkway to Portal Crossing, then waive the impact fee credits for the two lanes, which will exceed the $5.7 million needed, Pokrywa said.
“We plan to start design immediately and complete construction in 24 months,” Pokrywa said of the widening of Lakewood Ranch Boulevard to four lanes.
“Making Lakewood Ranch Boulevard a four-lane road will have a great impact on the eastern part of the county,” Hayes said. “Lakewood Ranch High School has been waiting for this to happen.”
All together, SMR threw roughly $19 million of either actual cash or impact credits into the deal to get the assurance it wanted, Pokrywa said.
“Imagine going to a lender and asking to borrow money to build something but having to say you are not sure you will be able to finish it,” said Caleb Grimes, SMR’s attorney on the projects. “That’s what we wanted to avoid.”
Richard Dymond, Herald reporter, can be reached at 748-0411, ext. 6686.
Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/09/21/2592293/deal-could-change-face-of-east.html#ixzz10AHoiPIV
8/13 Business Briefs: Home inspection firm opens – Business – BradentonHerald.com
Deputy suspended for actions at the Trop
Deputy suspended for actions at the Trop
By PARADISE AFSHAR –
MANATEE — A Manatee County Sheriff’s Office deputy has been suspended following an incident at a Tampa Bay Rays game last month, according to an internal affairs report.
Kevin White received 98.9 hours without pay after he went to the baseball game wearing an obscene T-shirt, which violated the Tropicana Field’s dress code policy.
“It was very embarrassing for him and our department,” said Sheriff Brad Steube. “But we hire from the human race and we all make mistakes.”
At the Rays game against the Minnesota Twins on Aug. 2, White was asked by security officials to turn the shirt inside-out, according to the report. He complied, but later reversed the shirt back. He was then approached a second time by security.
“That’s when White became belligerent with the employees, produced his Manatee County Sheriff’s Office badge and demanded to see the policy that prohibited him from wearing the T-shirt,” the report said.
White was then met by two off-duty St. Petersburg police officers working at the stadium who escorted him to a security office.
While there, “he continued to be discourteous to the security staff and ultimately threw his cell phone on the floor when he wasn’t allowed to answer it,” the report said.
One of the officers on the scene, Daniel Carvin, said in the report that it was apparent White had been drinking, but that he did not consider him to be drunk.
Carvin stated that White “was extremely rude. He was obnoxious. (But) He was not loud. He did not raise his voice.”
In the report, White admitted to drinking rum and Coke, and vodka-mixed drinks before the game; and he also drank at the game.
He originally denied showing his badge to security guards, but later admitted that he had shown the badge and was fearful he would get in trouble for displaying it, the report stated.
It was concluded from the sheriff’s office investigation that White did not display the behavior asked of him while at the game.
“Instead of complying with the repeated and reasonable request posed to him by employees of Tropicana Field, deputy White chose to become argumentative and unprofessional,” the report said.
White’s suspension begins Oct. 4 and ends Nov. 5.
Manatee County Sheriff’s Office spokesman Dave Bristow could not recall any past disciplinary action taken against White.
White could not be reached Saturday for comment.
Read more: http://www.bradenton.com/2010/09/19/2587819/deputy-suspended-for-actions-at.html#ixzz0zyqr44RN
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